Hospice of Kitsap County to partner with Harrison

EAST BREMERTON - Hospice of Kitsap County announced Wednesday that it will enter into a "partnership" with Harrison Medical Center.

No decision on a full-fledged merger has been made.

"The intention is that we stay separate. That being said, we can't predict the future," said Jim Page, Hospice board president. Within two years, Harrison and Hospice leaders will re-evaluate the full merger question.

What was made known Wednesday is that Harrison and Hospice soon will conduct a study to see what Hospice needs to do to grow.

Her replacement will be a Harrison management employee who will oversee day-to-day operations of Hospice, which provides end-of-life care for people with terminal illnesses.

The 85 Hospice employees will continue as Hospice employees. No other staff changes are initially planned, according to Page and Taylor, who met with the Kitsap Sun on Wednesday.

"There's no plans for reductions in forces," Taylor said.

The boards of the two nonprofits will function separately.

One of the drivers behind the decision to partner appears to be a realization that Hospice will have to grow to meet the needs of an aging population.

"We want to make sure that our agency can manage this growth responsibly and effectively," Page said.

Its inpatient center on Lebo Boulevard only has space for 15 patients, and is usually close to full, according to Taylor.

Hospice's patient load has increased about 10 percent annually in recent years. On any given day, it serves about 90 patients in its inpatient center and in patients' homes.

Harrison is in talks about affiliating with a larger hospital with one goal to get enough capital to someday build a full-service hospital in Silverdale. Harrison Chief Executive Officer Scott Bosch said last week that Harrison is committed to keeping its East Bremerton hospital operating.

Page didn't object when asked whether Hospice someday could expand into part of Harrison in East Bremerton.

"That's certainly possible," Page said.

Harrison's palliative-care services, which help provide comfort to people with serious illnesses, already are at Harrison in East Bremerton. Hospice and palliative-care services go hand in hand.

Another driver appears to be a desire of the Hospice board to increase its competitiveness and retain and grow its share of the hospice market. Franciscan Health Systems introduced in-home hospice care in Kitsap in 2009. Group Health also offers it to members.

"I would say that it does," Page said when asked if the partnership makes Hospice more competitive.

Improving Hospice electronic-records system could be among recommended "infrastructure" improvements resulting from the initial study, along with finding a way to interface them with Harrison's medical-records system.

No infusion of capital by Harrison into Hospice will take place in the partnership, according to Hospice leaders. Hospice has about $8 million in gross annual revenues, and Page said the agency is on sound financial footing.

"We're not doing this out of financial need today," Page said.

Also driving the new partnership is impending federal health care reform, which might end up rewarding agencies with Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements who serve the same patients but who also integrates some functions.

Hospice staff manned phone banks Wednesday to inform staff and families about its new partnership with Harrison.

No immediate name change is planned.

No full mergers have taken place in recent years in Washington state, according to Anne Koepsell, executive director of the Washington State Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.